What a year 2009 was. Google and Bing started to understand the intent of a search query and started to gain a better of idea of what formats of content were most engaging in relation to the search query. For the 1st time ever search engines measured organic positions against engagement time and bounce back rates etc, and all of a sudden (as if we were surprised), a better blend of real time, local and universal search results began to appear in the results pages. It’s a start in the right direction.

In times of financial uncertainty, many companies are inclined to bury their heads in the sand and simply wait for the storm to pass. Other companies, however, may look at an economic downturn as an opportunity to get more advertising for less money, thereby keeping the brand in their customers' minds for when things do turn around.

Recent developments and the ongoing economic recovery have led to a real shift in the boardroom mindset. CEO's and MD's across all industries have realised that Digital Marketing is where the marketing industry as a whole and consumer reach in specific are heading. With budgets under careful scrutiny, being able to monitor results from advertising spend has become increasingly important.  Long gone are the days of frivolous spending with little regard for ROI and measurable results.

One of the biggest criticisms of Facebook has been its inability to generate revenue and turn a profit. This is an ongoing challenge for the company as a whole, but that does not mean that marketers shouldn't use Facebook as an excellent tool to reach target markets, expand market potential and incorporate Facebook into overall marketing activities. It is fast, effective and relatively cheap. With the right direction and consistent content updates, this could be a useful weapon in your business marketing arsenal in the next year!

Ambergreen are pleased to be supporting the Edinbooks project, being carried out by our own, Eliza Dashwood. The project will see volunteers carpet bomb the city with books on every subject, from fiction to self help, travel to history.

The idea behind the project is to share books that would otherwise be taking up space on bookcases, encouraging reading throughout the community. The project will also demonstrate how online social media can be used to promote a cause, either for charities, events or businesses.

Microsoft and Yahoo have finally agreed to put their cultural differences aside for the benefit of a long term business strategy that hopefully may stop the tide turning against them as their global competitors Google move forward from search and social media, to operating systems and platform development.